Banknotes of Scotland facts for kids

Banknotes of Scotland are the banknotes of the pound sterling that are issued by three Scottish retail banks and in circulation in Scotland. The issuing of banknotes by retail banks in Scotland is subject to the Banking Act 2009, which repealed all earlier legislation under which banknote issuance was regulated, and the Scottish and Northern Ireland Banknote Regulations 2009. Currently, three retail banks are allowed to print notes for circulation in Scotland: Bank of Scotland, Royal Bank of Scotland, and Clydesdale Bank.

Scottish banknotes are unusual, first because they are issued by retail banks, not government central banks, and second, because they are technically not legal tender anywhere in the United Kingdom. Scottish bank notes are not legal tender even in Scotland, where, in law, no banknotes, even those issued by the Bank of England, are defined as legal tender. Formally, they are classified as promissory notes, and the law requires that the issuing banks hold a sum of Bank of England banknotes or gold equivalent to the total value of notes issued.

The fact that the notes are not defined as legal tender means that they are not withdrawn from circulation in the same way as the Bank of England notes, which cease to be legal tender on a given date. Instead, the Scottish banks withdraw old notes from circulation as they are banked. Any notes still in circulation continue to be honoured by banks, but retailers may refuse to accept older notes.

Banknotes

For ease of identification, all three issuing banks in Scotland use the same principal colour for each denomination: Blue for £5, brown for £10, purple for £20, red for £50, and turquoise for £100. This colour scheme is similar to current Bank of England notes (except that the Bank of England does not issue a £100 note). The size of the notes is also consistent across the three Scottish banks and the Bank of England.